Elaine, Double Bay gets formal $80 million asking price
Historic Double Bay estate Elaine has become the most expensive property in Sydney after agents set an official price tag of $80 million.
The trophy home, which sits over 6900 sqm on the harbour, has been on the market for two years and would set a new Australian price record.
The current record stands at $70 million, set last August with the sale of the Vaucluse mansion of billionaire James Packer.
The estate fronting Seven Shillings Beach has been rebranded as Elaine Gardens, given it is now also an approved multi-home development site.
“It is eligible to be purchased by foreign non-residents,” Ken Jacob’s of Christie’s International Real Estate advised.
“It is one of the world’s most exciting development opportunities,” he said.
The estate was listed for sale in late 2013 with a Fairfax Media report of a $100 million price estimate that was an ill-informed estimate by another estate agent.
For more than 125 years it has been in the hands of the Fairfax family.
Its vendor, businessman John B. Fairfax says, while the property has had not been short of suitors, he deemed it necessary to get approval of development plans, “ensuring a respectful outcome for their treasured estate while delivering certainty for buyers.”
“We had hoped, and still do hope, the property would sell in a single line,” John Fairfax said.
“Over a number of months there has been limited appetite for this.
“Having grown up in the house it has always been my intention to manage the current process in a careful and responsible way.“
As a four lot subdivision, Ken Jacobs has also suggested an anticipated price range of $25 million to $27.5 million for each of the two new harbour front sites, $13 million to $14 million for the Elaine homestead block and $4 million to $4.4 million for the coach house.
The option of subdividing the 6,900 square metre estate has been on the books since a 1980s council approval for subdivision.
To watch the video showcasing Elaine, click here.
This article was first published in The Saturday Daily Telegraph.